


Forced Remembrance

by twilighteve



Series: Pnat Prompts [8]
Category: Paranatural (Webcomic)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Prompt Fic, the aclub being protective of max
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-24 13:10:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9729473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twilighteve/pseuds/twilighteve
Summary: Prompt: The gang meets a spirit who's powers relate to memory. It causes problems.





	

Four kids and an adult ran through the forest surrounding Mayview, in pursuit of a spirit. Bursts of colors occasionally wafted up into the air before dissipating between branches and leaves. If one strained their ear enough – or if they didn’t at all, really – they’d be able to hear multiple kids screaming colorful half-swears every five seconds or so, occasionally accompanied by some from the adult, mixed with some Latin. So maybe it was a good thing that there wasn’t anyone in the woods except for the group.

“This guy is shaped like a _snail_ ,” Max growled as he leapt forward to get ahold of said spirit, “how is it able to move so _fast_?!”

“Well it does look like a snail, but it’s got wings and can fly and to be completely honest the wings remind me of eagle wings,” Ed retorted. At the look Isaac sent him, he snapped in offense, “What, you think these glasses are just for show? I read!”

“Kids,” Spender barked in warning, and the boys backed away immediately. “In any case, we need to deal with this spirit as quickly and cautiously as possible. We still don’t know what it’s capable of.”

“What do we do? Just beat it up?” Isabel asked. “I mean knocking it to the ground seems to be the most efficient way to deal with it.”

Spender contemplated it for a bit. “Well… I’d rather use other methods, but none of them seems to be working, so I suppose there’s no harm in using that one.”

“Okay, we’ll need to knock it down first,” Isabel concluded, frowning in thought.

“I’m on it,” Max announced, easily jumping ahead while using tree branches as footholds and monkey bars.

“How is _he_ so fast?” Isaac panted.

“Must be parkour thing,” Ed muttered under his breath, and Isaac nodded in agreement.

The group continued their pursuit with renewed resolve, ready to use their spectral abilities offensively, colors flaring. Max, the fastest of them, had managed to get ahead of the flying snail spirit and whipped out his bat to whack it from ahead, while Isabel was right behind it, red spectral energy forming claws she’d use to pin the spirit on the ground.

At Isabel’s shout of “ _now!_ ”, Max jumped to the spirit, ready to smack it in mid-air. The spirit halted suddenly in alarm, suddenly glowing a sinister shade of purple. The light pulsed once before flaring out, exploding like a bomb and washing everything in lavender light. The blast pushed everyone back, knocking them off their feet and stumbling a few steps back, falling on their faces. Isabel was knocked back harshly, crashing into Spender and tumbling down together like bowling pins. Max, closest to the spirit, suffered the full brunt of the blast, getting thrown back with a smack and falling hard, rolling on the ground and somehow managing to avoid hitting the trees before his momentum slowed and he came to a stop, curling on his side with numerous scrapes, cuts, and forming bruises in his body.

The glow the spirit gave off pulsed once more and dissipated before the spirit fled away.

For a few moments, the forest was deathly silent.

Then, a soft groan. Spender blinked in confusion, giving a small moan at the pressure at his stomach. He stared at the green foliage around him, wondering what was happening and why he was suddenly lying on the forest floor when he was just returning to the clubroom after a staff meeting. Then, trickling very slowly and frustratingly, was pieces and scenes from a recent memory that came in jumbled puzzle pieces, of a pursuit in the forest for an annoyingly fast spirit that shouldn’t be fast because it was… an eagle? A slug? Something with spirally shell on it? He couldn’t  tell.

 _Memory_ , something clicked inside his mind. _The spirit can mess with memory._

He honestly wasn’t sure what time it was, what was the date, and how long it had been since that staff meeting. To make matters worse, he kept fading back to his walk back to the clubroom and finding himself temporarily confused about the trees around him before he once again realized where he was and what he was doing. It took him an extra effort to focus on the _here_ and _now_. He didn’t like it, and hoped that it was only temporary.

He gave a small gasp when he remembered about his students. He pushed himself up, only to realize that the weight on his stomach was Isabel, whose head was pillowed on his midsection. He frowned with worry and shook the girl gently. “Isabel. Isabel, are you okay?”

The girl had a glazed, faraway look in her eyes that made Spender feel uneasy. He casted his gaze around, seeing Ed and Isaac both sprawled on the forest floor, trapped in the same daze. Panic began to knot in Spender’s stomach before Ed groaned aloud, sitting up with a confused look in his face. He turned to look at the teacher and stared for a moment too long.

“Mr. Spender, why is it that I think we should be in the dojo but I’m pretty sure that I’m wrong?” the green spectral asked, finally.

Before Spender could answer, Isaac gave a small yelp and rolled aside, locked in a position between a crouch and lying with his stomach down. “What – I – why are we here? Where’s Max? I thought there were just the two of us, dealing with this weird Sphinx spirit, and we’re – “ he cut himself off, panting slightly. “That doesn’t sound right,” he settled finally.

Spender slapped himself mentally when he felt himself zoning out to that leisure stroll to the clubroom again. “We were dealing with a spirit,” he explained. “I think it can mess with our memory. It looks like it got away, unfortunately.”

Isaac got that faraway look again in the middle of his explanation, and he shook quickly to clear his head before asking, “Sorry, you were saying…?”

Spender barely got three words into his repeated explanation when Isabel jerked up with a squeak, a frantic look in her eyes. “Eightfold!” she screamed.

“Isabel,” Spender called her gently, noting the look of her eyes, praying that he could be focused enough to calm the girl. He could feel the insistent memory of the corridors of Mayview Middle School slowly recede back into the crevices of his brain, though sometimes it still jumped to the forefront of his mind that was grounded to the present by nothing but sheer force of will.

Isabel looked around, movements jerky. “Why is it bright? Isn’t this supposed to be night?” she asked aloud. She sounded shaken.

“Isabel,” Spender repeated, gently grasping the girl’s arm to ground her. She jumped but looked at him, desperate for anything to anchor her and give her an explanation. Spender readily took that role, speaking to her softly, “Calm down, now. Take a deep breath. We were chasing a spirit that can mess your memory. Do you remember that?”

Isabel blinked a few times, and she seemed to have gathered her wits again. “I… yeah. I do. Where is it? Shouldn’t we do something about it? Did you manage to finish it off already?”

“It got away,” Ed answered for Spender.

“Oh.” Isabel slumped. The glazed look flitted past her eyes for a split second before she tensed, scrunching her eyes shut and blinking a few times. “Okay, so we should probably try to get it. I think I can send a paper plane to tail the spirit – “ she stopped talking, noticing for the first time that she didn’t have her book with her. “Uh, shouldn’t I have Eightfold with me?” A beat passed before her face fell, her mind finally catching up with the present. “Oh.”

“That spirit really messed with our heads,” Isaac shook his head before he stilled. He then met Spender’s eyes with alarm in his blue ones. “Where’s Max?”

Spender stared at him blankly for a moment because _Who in the heck is Max?_ before the memory of the new black spectral child with a metal bat of a tool crashed into his mind. Panic flared in his mind for a moment when he realized just how much damage the memory spirit had dealt before he pushed it down. He needed to find Max.

“Who’s – “ Isabel stopped herself mid-sentence, straightening up suddenly. “I think he got thrown that way,” she pointed.

The group quickly rushed to where she pointed. Worry filled their stomach in varying degrees when they saw the ground, which looked like something had been dragged across of it, occasionally bouncing every now and then. It showed Max’s trajectory, and it suggested that he had been hurt, possibly badly.

Spender thought to how Zarei had fixed Max’s broken arm with an icy lecture directed at the teacher. He wondered how she’d react now if she found out he was hurt again. And then he mentally stumbled because he didn’t remember Max ever getting hurt, before the memory again crashed into his brain.

They soon found Max curling on his side some ways away from where Spender approximated to be where the spirit was when it blasted them with the attack. They dashed to him, concerned, when he didn’t respond when called. Ed got to him first and he quickly rolled Max gently to lie on his back. The same daze that trapped the other members of the Activity Club had the black spectral captive, but there were also tracks of fresh tears on his face. As soon as he faced the sky, he blinked several times, the daze slowly disappearing, though he still looked far too confused to Spender’s liking.

“Max?” Isabel called him softly.

Max blinked a few times more, giving a stifled moan of pain. Then his eyes widened and he sat up suddenly, tilting to the side when the dizziness hit, before he turned to face them with a panicked look in his eyes.

“Why aren’t I at the hospital?” was the thing that came out of his mouth.

Isaac stared. “What?”

“Why aren’t I at the hospital?” Max repeated, more urgently this time. “Look, I’m hurt all over, there are a lot of cuts on me, I know I must have been involved in an accident somehow – “

“Max, there wasn’t any accident – “ Isaac interjected.

Max didn’t pay him any attention, continuing ahead with his spiel. “ – so why am I not at the hospital? Why am I in a forest instead? And I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just me that needs to be admitted into a hospital. What about Zoey? What about Dad? What about – “ he stopped himself short, eyes widening. “… Mom. Mom was – she was – is she – “ he turned to Spender, who was the only adult in vicinity, and stared at him desperately. “Where’s my mother? Is she okay?”

Spender shook his head, unsure of what he should say. “Max, I…”

Broken realization shone through Max’s eyes. Fresh tears spilled. “She didn’t survive, did she? She’s – “ the glazed look flitted in his eyes for a moment. He frowned in fearful confusion. “Why can’t I… did I hit my head?”

“Max,” Spender called the boy.

“Why can’t I remember things clearly?” Max went on, voice slowly rising in volume. “How am I here? Why aren’t I in the hospital?”

“ _Max_ ,” Spender repeated, grabbing the black spectral by his arms. “Max, calm down. We were hit by an attack from a spirit who can mess with your memory. Do you remember that?”

Max blinked a few times in quick succession. An ounce of clarity finally showed itself in his eyes. The boy slumped silently to the ground. “I am so confused right now,” he admitted.

“I know you are,” Spender kept his voice steady, trying to soothe the boy. “We were all hit by that attack. It seems like you got the worst of it.”

Max dug the palm of his hands into his eyes and sighed. “Yeah, I guess.” He drew the sleeves of his hoodie to wipe the tears on his face. “Is the spirit…?”

“It got away,” Isabel supplied.

“Forget about that spirit for now,” Spender shook his head. “We were all unprepared. We could deal with it later. Max, are you hurt badly?”

Max inspected himself, prodding and wincing, before he shook his head. “I’ve been better, but this isn’t that bad. Mostly just bruises, really.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’ve been worse.”

“Max,” this time, it was Isabel who spoke. Her voice sounded both worried and stern.

“Seriously, I’m okay,” Max insisted. The same daze seemed to fall on him before he shook himself out of it. “I just…” he bit his lip. “I just want to go home. If that’s okay.”

He peered at Spender inquiringly, and suddenly three other pairs of eyes glared at him as though demanding to let Max go home. Spender was honestly surprised at their reaction. He coughed once before answering, “Of course it’s okay. I was thinking of calling it a day, anyway, since we don’t have any means of tracking the spirit down. Besides, it’s getting late, and I don’t want to make your parents worry about you. Can you stand, Max?”

“Yeah,” Max muttered, pushing himself to his feet. He gritted his teeth as he rolled his shoulders. “I’ve definitely been better,” he mumbled to himself.

“How will you explain all that?” Ed asked, motioning to Max vaguely, though it was clear that he was talking about the wounds.

“I’m just gonna say I wanted to show you some stunts but ended up falling,” Max shrugged before wincing at the motion. “It wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened.”

A spell of silence descended on them before Isaac broke it awkwardly. “Hey, Max… uh, you can maybe talk to me about that earlier. If you want to. And if you’re comfortable with it. Maybe.”

Max mentally stumbled at that, staring at Isaac in surprise. “I, ah, thank you?” he so eloquently replied. They hadn’t really amended their somewhat shaky friendship after the fight they had a few days earlier, and Max hadn’t expected Isaac to offer his support.

“Yeah, you can talk to me about that too!” Isabel added. “I’m all ears. I’m sure Ed is the same.”

“Of course,” Ed nodded. “I mean I’m sure you wouldn’t just blab your life problems to everyone, who does that? But yeah, we’ll listen.” There was a beat, and he quickly added, “But not because we want some blackmail materials! Really!”

“Okay,” Max couldn’t help but let a smile bloom at his face. “Thanks.”

Spender smiled to himself listening to the children’s interaction, thinking of a way to help better support them all. He might have his own agendas, but he was still a teacher, and he would fail if he couldn’t support them all in a way or another. His mind whirled with Max’s wish to go out of town that had become impossible since the ghost train was disabled.

With delight, he realized his mind was no longer muddled with the memory spirit’s influences. He was pleased to know that the effects were temporary, though judging from how his students, Max in particular, seemed to fall into a daze every now and then, they seemed to suffer from the attack, still. Spender only hoped that it would wear off soon.

“Hey, Max?” he called, and Max blinked a few times to shake off another moment of daze before looking at the teacher. Spender threw him a smile and continued, “You remember that time you said you wanted to visit your old friends? Right now it seems impossible, I know, but I’ll speak to Dr. Zarei to see if she’s been able to communicate with the ghost train and if there’s a way to get out of town.”

Max stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment, the attack they all suffered slowing his usually quick mind. Then, a grin found its way to his face. “Thank you, Mr. Spender,” he told him with the softest voice Spender had heard him use.

“It’s no problem, Max,” Spender answered.

At this point, he just hoped that Zarei had somehow found a way to get the ghost train working again in whatever tool it was in, really.

**Author's Note:**

> First, sorry it took me this long to write. It got way longer than I thought it would be.
> 
> Second, thanks for the anon who sent me this, because you have reminded me of how much I love writing angst.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this. Have a great day!


End file.
